BY GULFSTREAM PARK PRESS OFFICE (Edited)
J. Stable and Robert Cotran’s 4-year-old, Grade 3-winner Hades, fresh off his first victory in 22 months, is being pointed to the $75,000 Sunshine Classic for Florida-breds 4-year-olds and older to be run Jan. 10 at Gulfstream Park.
Based at Gulfstream with trainer Joe Orseno, Hades rallied for a second level, $32,000 optional claiming allowance triumph going a mile-and-40-yards on Dec. 6 at Tampa Bay Downs, his first win since starting his career with three consecutive victories capped by the 2024 Holy Bull (G3).
Hades ran second or third five times in 11 subsequent starts, all in stakes, and was disqualified to second for interference after crossing the wire first in the $60,100 Mr. Jordan overnight handicap July 25.
“It was a long time coming,” Orseno said. “We needed to run him, so I sent him up there. He needed two turns. Really a mile-and-40 wasn’t far enough for him, so we’ll get him ready for the Florida-bred race here, the Sunshine Classic.”
The Sunshine Classic, won in 2012 and 2014 by 2013 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1)-winner Mucho Macho Man, is contested at a mile-and-a-sixteenth.
“He’s run well here. He wants the two turns and I think he’s got to go even further than the Sunshine Classic distance, but we’ll lead up to that,” Orseno said. “After that race [at Tampa] I had to map out something and that’s what I came up with. It seems like the next logical spot.
“We didn’t have it in mind going in. He had to prove to me that he’s still Hades. He’s been showing me in the morning, but until they run [you don’t know],” he added. “In the middle of the turn I thought he’s not, but then the light came back on again.”
Hades and jockey Samuel Marin third sat off dueling leaders Forged Steel and Lucas’s Mischief until being taken outside leaving the far turn, then drifted further out through the stretch but came with a steady drive to beat Forged Steel by a length-and-a-half.
“He showed a lot of grit. When he got to the outside, he made up a ton of ground. I was very happy with him,” Orseno said. “We’ll bring him back, train him here and get him ready.”
Return to the December 11 issue of Wire to Wire
